Northern Stonesprite

When explorers go wade or swim near rocky beaches in Tlèëa, they often come back with fresh bite wounds. Four small punctures, usually on the feet or ankles, that can bleed for a surprisingly long time.

The perpetrator?

The northern stonesprite (Talusictus borealis), a small species of llamplelgan that lives in shallow rocky habitats all along the coast of Tlèëa. It is grey in coloration and blends in perfectly with the rocks and for a good reason. It is an ambush predator that lies in wait for some unsuspecting prey to swim by.

It mainly feeds on pectinauts, but crustaceans, small fish, conodonts and other llamplelgans are also on the menu. 

Once prey is in range, it rapidly extends its esophagus and turns it inside out to reveal four large copper coated teeth. If prey is impaled by these teeth, it is game over and the stonesprite quickly draws its esophagus back in.

Additionally, these teeth seem to be coated with an anticoagulant venom that prevents blood from clotting. So when one of our researchers gets bitten by a stonesprite, either out of self defense or mistaken for prey, the researcher has actually been envenomed by a substance that could prove deadly if it was injected in a larger dose.